1969 Kaiser M715 - M7.3

“My goal was to build an expedition vehicle. I had been shopping for a truck to design and build for sustained off-road travel,” says Kevin Mackie of Milpitas, California. The story of how he ended up buying and building this ’69 Kaiser M715 began with a chance find.

“Approximately eight years ago I opened a small auto business servicing Honda automobiles. My neighbor was kind of a military nut and had a bunch of old army vehicles stored around the complex. The M715 had been shrink-wrapped, and I had no idea what it was. After a big storm in 2010, the covers had been torn off, exposing it. Some friends and I walked over to check it out, looking all through it (thinking it was my neighbors—it wasn’t), when the owner came out upset that strangers were looking at his vehicle. We introduced ourselves, apologized, and started talking. We found out he may be willing to sell it. I made a very low offer and he accepted- with the condition that I buy it to use it,” Mackie says.

“The truck had been there for almost 15 years, untouched. It was very complete and after a brake master cylinder and some fresh gas it was drivable. I actually commuted with it, driving on back roads and side streets for about three months,” he goes on to say.

Even though the cargo bed of the truck is bobbed, Mackie made it a point to keep it as stock-looking as possible. This included reusing the lighting, recovery points, and pintle hitch. A custom six-point rollcage rises above the cargo bed and the ’cage (like the interior rollcage) is made from a combination of 1.750- and 2-inch tubing. The ’cage serves as a mounting point for a spare wheel and tire as well as a Hi-Lift jack.

However, with no power steering or power brakes and a top speed of only about 40 mph, Mackie says, “the need for change was due.” His best friend and co-builder of the rig, Randy Ellis, convinced his father to donate an ’89 Ford F-350 ex-US Forest Service truck to the cause. “The diesel engine and strong axles were a great concept for the build. Researching forums, this exact swap appeared to be a myth that was frequently talked about, but possibly never done,” Mackie says. He notes that, “From then on, the build was on.”

As with any build, there were complications that Mackie had to deal with along the way. Further, this wasn’t a build with an unlimited budget and Mackie had to use his resources wisely. With that said, one of the most devastating (and costly) issues arose due to a broken chain. During mock-up, a chain broke while using a forklift to set the engine and transmission. This resulted in a broken-in-half transmission and a smashed transfer case. Mackie says, “One thousand four hundred dollars later we continued on.”

Over the next few months, Mackie spent every evening running wires, hoses, lines, and the like. He says there was a lot of trial and error (what he calls “research and development”) to make everything work. Finally, near the end of 2011, the truck was up and running and after about three months of “sorting bugs,” he says he had a good running, reliable vehicle. The truck’s maiden voyage was to the 2012 Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah.

And that is where we ran into Mackie and his heavily modified M715. It was still under construction, but we saw the truck in action on the trail and its performance is as strong as the vehicle is unique.